The Man in Black
by Uozumi
Summary: Into Darkness based fic. Spoilers up through 10 March 2013. The Enterprise pursues a mysterious "man in black," who can seemingly appear and disappear at will, as an ESPer coup comes to fruition. Meanwhile, an undercover temporal agent balances the historical record and reality so other agents can fix the chaos caused by Nero.
1. Chapter 1

**Fandom** Star Trek (AOS), specifically _Star Trek into Darkness_  
**Character(s)/Pairing(s)** Christine Chapel, Pavel Chekov, Giotto, John Harrison, Jim Kirk, Admiral Marcus, Carol Marcus, Leonard McCoy, Gary Mitchell, Jean-Luc Picard, Janice Rand, Montgomery Scott, Spock, Hikaru Sulu, Nyota Uhura; past Carol/Jim  
**Genre** Alternate Universe/Crossover/Drama/Scifi  
**Rating** PG-13  
**Word Count** 6,157 of 17,348  
**Disclaimer** Star Trek c. Paramount, CBS, Roddenberry  
**Summary** The Enterprise pursues a mysterious "man in black," who can seemingly appear and disappear at will, as an ESPer coup comes to fruition. Meanwhile, an undercover temporal agent balances the historical record and reality so other agents can fix the chaos caused by Nero.  
**Warning(s)** character death, death in general, mention of immolation, violence, spoilers for trailers, promotional material, promos, and interviews as of March 10, 2013. This is conjecture based on many things released before the UK/International trailer.  
**Chapter Warning(s)** death, violence, mentions of immolation, spoilers up through March 10, 2013  
**Notes** This started with the crack theory that Cumberbatch was playing a temporal agent. My brother asked what if that temporal agent was Jean-Luc Picard under a false name, and then the rest went from there. I used many characters from TOS to flesh out the story as well as some original characters to fill minor roles when necessary. This fanfic assumes the Enterprise would have some sort of security monitoring system. This fanfic also assumes that the TOS system of force fields that deliver static shocks is how the brig operates.  
**Chapter** One, in which Captain Kirk deals with security discrepancies and a non-plasma fire on the Enterprise while transporting a group of scientists. Meanwhile, Starfleet urges the Enterprise to find and bring in a suspicious man.  
**All Chapters** here  
**Next Chapter** here

_**The Man in Black **_**  
Chapter One**

It ached, this destruction. It filled his nose and burned his eyes, but he endured. He stepped forward from the ruins of the Starfleet base in London and looked directly at one of the surveillance cameras. He was on a mission and called himself John Harrison now. Harrison heard approaching sirens. He stepped out of view of the camera, back into the remnants of people and buildings. He then disappeared.

**-**

This region of the planet looked like Dr. Seuss dreamt about it. There were large red reed-like trees with puffball tops. The rivers were a sea green, the oceans deep, dark blue, and the ground a golden, sandy yellow. "Keep up, Bones," Kirk called over his shoulder as he parted their way through the numerous tall, thin trees.

"Keep up my ass," McCoy grunted. He was very close behind Kirk, but tried not to get so close he might actually step on Kirk's heels. Just beyond McCoy were several very angry indigenous humanoids. The people welcomed them openly when they beamed to the planet's surface earlier that morning. By lunchtime, there was a communications break down and the indigenous people thought Kirk and McCoy wanted one of them to eat. Now that two of the three suns were setting, it was well past time to get out or find out how the region punished a mistaken desire for cannibalism.

"Scotty!" Kirk called out. "Are you ready?"

Scotty flipped switches and twisted dials. "Aye, Captain," he said. "We're ready for you now." Due to magnetic interference, the team entered the planet in darkness last night via a shuttlecraft. Scott and Uhura remained in charge of the shuttlecraft currently hidden in one of the planet's oceans. After Kirk and McCoy left the shuttlecraft, the transporter stopped working properly. It had not worked properly all day, but Scott knew it would work now.

"Two to beam up. Do it fast. We're on the run," Kirk said. He almost slipped in the sand. The texture was becoming finer. He could hear rushing water up ahead. McCoy almost tripped over Kirk, but simply grabbed Kirk up by the shirt and dragged him along.

"They're catching up and we can hear the waterfall," McCoy added, "so whenever you're ready, Scotty."

A swirling glow enveloped the captain and the doctor. After a moment where it almost appeared they might not energize, they disappeared from the planet's surface. McCoy let go of Kirk and managed to stop running before he ran off the transporter. Kirk jogged off and gripped the transporter console. "Thanks, Scotty."

"Captain," Uhura said, "Commander Spock is on the comlink." It was 2264 and the crew was on its fourth year of its first five-year mission. The hiccups were mostly gone, though the history between crewmembers did not completely vanish.

"Put him on," Kirk said. He moved in view of the com screen in the small shuttle. McCoy, Uhura, and Scotty gathered around as well. "Spock," Kirk greeted. "The ship still in one piece I hope?" He smiled a bit. It was a joke. Of course, Spock would have the ship in one piece.

"Yes," Spock answered. "Admiral Marcus has been in contact with the ship," Spock spoke with deliberate care. "I cannot divulge the details here, but our orders are for you to return to the ship and assist in tracking down one of those 'men in black.'"

Kirk raised an eyebrow. "Really?" The men in black was a reference to people dressed in black clothing that appeared in specific locations across the galaxy since the defeat of Nero. The first rumors of a man in black were about the time the fleet was repaired and the Enterprise began its five-year mission. The first confirmed sighting was a few months ago near an outpost by Nero's entrance to the time stream. No one knew what the group wanted or what it did. "I'll talk to you when we get back aboard." With nothing more for Spock to report, the communication channel closed. Kirk turned to his team on the shuttle. "Okay, you heard him. They need us for something more exciting than first contact cannibalism." Kirk brought up a map of the planet. "If we piloted the shuttle to about here," he indicated the middle of the ocean they currently resided, "we could take off and rendezvous with the Enterprise without being seen, right?"

Uhura studied the map. "There's another settlement here and here." She indicated places on the map. "If they fish, they could be closer to that part of the ocean."

Kirk moved his finger. "What about here?"

Scotty tilted his head. "Doable. Still depends on how far they hunt. If we really don't want to be seen, we should just wait for darkness that would take two hours."

Kirk considered. "Or…right there." He picked a far point that would hide them from the indigenous people in theory by a rock formation that jutted out of the ocean. "It's desert over here and craggy there, so as long as we avoid any obstacles, we should be able to exit." It would be a gamble but it was in an area that was remote enough. Without any objections, Kirk turned to help set about getting the shuttle to the location. He looked at McCoy, who was still quite pale. "You okay there, Bones?"

"You know I hate transporters," McCoy quipped. "Let's try not to get eaten by some kind of sea monster, all right?" He fell in step with Kirk as the group headed back to the seats near the cockpit.

**-**

The briefing room still looked like some kind of dental office with a round table stuck in the middle. It was white and sterile. At one point Sulu added plants that would be hypoallergenic to known species. Then Rand found some art to stick up on it to represent parts of the federation. Kirk thought all they needed were some models of teeth in varying states of decay. While there had been many medical and dental advancements, teeth still needed checkups and sometimes alignment strips to fix problems.

Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scott, Sulu, and Uhura gathered towards the front curve of the table. Chekov had the con while the senior officers were in conference.

"Whenever you're ready, Spock," Kirk said.

Spock took a moment to make sure he had everyone's attention. "I received a communication from Admiral Marcus at 1600 hours. At 1000 GMT, a series of bombs went off at the Starfleet installation in London, England, destroying every building on the campus." Spock paused briefly. "The Admiral said just before the explosion, Starfleet security relayed reports to local police of a campus-wide malfunction. None of the doors or windows of any building would open from the inside or the outside. The local police arrived just as the bombs detonated. When Admiral Marcus contacted us, London was still sorting through the dead and injured. They have no details on the type of bomb or the means of detonation."

There was a long silence. All of them knew at least one person stationed at the London base. It handed recruitment, diplomacy, and other matters related to Starfleet in that region of Earth.

"You mentioned the men in black?" Kirk prompted.

"That is correct," Spock said. He brought up an image on the computer screen of a tall human with fair skin and dark hair. "His identity is currently unknown. He was seen in London in the two days leading up to the explosion. His last sighting was on a remote outpost near Klingon space." Spock's eyes shifted so he could make proper eye contact with Jim. "Outpost KVX-759." Outpost KVX-759 was the closet point of Federation space to the site Nero began his attacks. "The last sighting was 1503 this afternoon."

"That's the third sighting in that area," Jim said.

"Wait," McCoy said. "You have to pass through a checkpoint to get to that place. Didn't they see him?" The checkpoint had an outbreak of Andorian shingles two years ago despite vaccinations. It was in all of the Starfleet medical journals. "Not to mention he couldn't have gotten their in five hours if we're supposed to believe the timestamp on this photo."

"Those are all valid concerns, which the Admiral shares," Spock answered. "It was similar concerns that that prompted Admiral Marcus to order the Enterprise to report to Outpost KVX-759 to investigate this man in black. The man in black might be gone when we arrive, but Admiral Marcus stated that what evidence we can gather and report back will be valuable."

Everyone took a moment to digest the information. Kirk ran a finger along his thumb. Scott's brow furrowed and Uhura studied the picture on the screen. Sulu watched Spock intently.

"If we locate the man in black," Spock continued, "we are to bring him to Starfleet alive as per Admiral Marcus' orders."

Kirk nodded. "We'll set in a course for KVX-759. I want all of you to look over what we know about these guys. We'll reach the outpost in 15 hours. That's enough time to study and get some sleep." He wanted them sharp for the mission. "Dismissed."

**-**

Outpost KVX-759 was a standard outpost installation satellite. It was a safe distance from the black hole created when Vulcan collapsed. The Enterprise docked and the away team gathered in the transporter room. Kirk, Spock, Uhura, Scott, and McCoy appeared on the outpost's transporter terminal. A woman in a red uniform stood behind the controls.

"Welcome to our outpost," she said, "I'm Lt. Reed."

"Captain Kirk," Kirk replied and quickly introduced his team as they exited the transporter block. "Starfleet said you had an intruder recently."

"Yes," Reed confirmed. "We had another sighting this morning on one of the Engineering decks. We're under orders to wait for your team." She led the way to the Engineering deck in question. "We put the deck into lockdown after the last sighting."

"Sounds like we're going to coax a possum out from under the veranda," McCoy commented.

"He has a weapon, but he's not discharged it," Red explained. "If you need back up, there are three other Starfleet personnel here besides myself." Reed put her code into the security panel outside the Engineering deck when prompted.

"What we need is someone manning the doors from out here," Kirk said. "Spock," he said and turned to his team, "I'll need you, Scott, and Uhura to take the left." It would take them by the majority of Engineering panels. "Bones and I will take the right." Kirk got out his phaser, which prompted the others to as well. "Set phasers to stun," he instructed. Once they all had made certain their phasers were set to the same frequency, the group entered the Engineering deck.

The Engineering deck was outdated compared to the Enterprise. The outpost was twenty years old and abandoned for three years before Nero died and the men in black began to appear. The Engineering technology was at least ten years in the past, though the computers had a recent overhaul. The groups split off and took their separate paths.

Scotty made a beeline for one of the Engineering consoles. He began working his way into the computer system. "Let's see how true the reporters were," he murmured. "You two go on ahead, I've got this."

Uhura's eyes were already above them. Spock surveyed the area around them. "I do not know if it is wise to leave you alone," Spock said. "Nyota, stay here and make sure no one sneaks up on Lt. Commander Scott. I will continue."

"Be careful," Uhura said. She watched Spock leave and continued to monitor the area around the computer panel.

"There're no traces of transporter activity or shuttle activity between London and the first sighting here, disregarding the fact there's nothing that could move that fast anyway," Scott told Uhura. "There're no signs of tampering with the computer records or signs of transport signals in the building sweeps…" He frowned. "But the computer is counting ten humanoids in the outpost. Four humanoids up until thirty minutes before the first visual. Five humanoids until we arrived. Now ten." He began typing code into the computer.

"Can you locate the extra person?" Uhura asked.

"Not with these settings," Scotty said, "but if I were to upgrade it a wee bit…" He concentrated on his input data. "Just let me know if we've got company."

Kirk could see nothing that appeared amiss. His eyes moved from the ground to the ceiling, along the service catwalks, and the various equipment. He had his phaser ready in case of threat, but there was nothing.

"I'm not sure I want to know how he arrived," McCoy said. "Can you imagine something worse than transporters?"

"Well, he didn't just walk through the walls," Kirk said. "Scotty will know what's going on when we meet back up with him." Kirk had all the confidence in Scott's abilities.

Kirk and McCoy rounded what looked like several storage towers together at the same time Spock appeared around the other side. "Captain," Spock said, "Doctor."

"Anything?" Kirk asked.

"On this level no," Spock said. "I cannot see any threat above either, but there are places to hide. I would recommend investigating the catwalks as well."

Laser blasts echoed around the room. The source sounded like it could be near the Engineering computer stations. Spock, Kirk, and McCoy returned the way Spock came, keeping a look out for the source. Harrison, dressed completely in black, stood on the catwalk overlooking Scotty's sparking terminal. He held a large laser weapon on a strap that wrapped around his torso. From where Uhura and Scott were on the floor, it appeared Uhura had pushed Scott out of the way of the blast with enough time.

Kirk returned fire once he could find a shot. Harrison evaded, but did not hide himself amongst the equipment near the catwalk. Harrison shot again, hitting McCoy in the thigh, eliciting a string of profanities from the doctor. There was blood. The weapon was not set to injure, possibly to kill depending on the aim.

"Captain…" Scott's voice trailed, uncertain of the right question to ask.

"You know our orders," Kirk said, "keep them set where they are." He moved in such a manner he could keep his body between Uhura and Harrison while she quickly moved closer to McCoy to check on him.

Spock moved to stand at Kirk's side, blocking the majority of Kirk's body from Harrison's aim. "Captain," he said quietly, "while we have no orders to kill him, it is not wise to put yourself in a position in which he could kill you."

"I've got this," Kirk said. "Don't worry." He raised his voice so he could call out to Harrison on the catwalk. "I'm Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise. I'm under orders to bring you back to Starfleet. I'm not here to kill you."

"I am John Harrison," Harrison said. He lined his weapon up with Kirk. "This won't be the last time we meet." He fired. Kirk moved to dodge the shot at the same time Spock pushed him out of the way. The laser passed through Spock's forearm, but did not sever it.

Kirk looked away from Harrison, watching the green blood ooze from Spock's arm. When Kirk looked back at the catwalk, Harrison was no longer in sight. "Uhura, get Spock and McCoy back to the ship. Scotty, come with me." Kirk climbed up onto the catwalk with Scott. They could hear the others beaming out of the room. Scott and Kirk explored the catwalks, but there was no sign of Harrison.

Kirk and Scott exited the Engineering deck when the computers and their own eyes confirmed Harrison's disappearance. Scotty downloaded the computer's readouts of the chemical elements before, during, and after the confrontation. Then, Scott and Kirk exited through the door they entered. Reed was still at the door, waiting for any kind of communication or signal. She stepped back to let Scott and Kirk exit.

"He was there," Kirk said, "but he's gone now. Some of my team had to return to the ship early." He looked at Scott before directing his attention back at Reed. "I think it'd be a good idea if Lt. Commander Scott here helped upgrade your security systems."

"It'll take under an hour," Scott said, "but when I'm done, you'll be able to locate any intruders from any security interface." Reed agreed to the upgrade and Kirk explored the rest of the outpost.

When Kirk and Scott returned to the Enterprise, Harrison had not reappeared at the outpost nor were there any reports of new sightings in other locations. Security swept the Enterprise but the ship was not missing anyone nor had the ship gained anyone unexpected. Kirk made his way to Sick Bay to check on his crew.

"Captain," Nurse Chapel greeted Kirk as she headed over to McCoy and Spock. It was rare that McCoy would need bandages, but the wound to Spock's arm would need the barrier during the healing process.

McCoy took the bandage from Chapel and wrapped it around Spock's arm. "The skin and muscle should regrow in a few hours, the bone by the start of Delta shift," McCoy told Spock. "Keep this on for an hour. The skin should be back by then. Be careful with it while the bone regrows."

"Thank you, Doctor," Spock said. He eased himself off the table.

"Still in one piece?" McCoy asked Kirk.

"Yeah," Kirk said in a quiet voice to keep it between himself and his officers. Chapel discreetly left the room to make certain others did not enter unless there was an emergency. "We searched the outpost, updated their security software, but Harrison was gone. Scotty's got the readouts for the Engineering deck, but he said his preliminary searches didn't show any kind of transport fluctuations in that part of the ship except for you two and Uhura." He looked at both McCoy and Spock. "Any thoughts how to get in and out quickly without a transporter?"

McCoy led the group to his office so the facility could function if need be. The three officers remained standing despite the chairs in the small tucked away room.

"The question is," Spock ventured after a great deal of thought, "if it is possible to manipulate time and space around a person as a wormhole manipulates time and space around something like a starship."

McCoy looked almost disgusted by the thought of hurtling through space without any kind of shielding.

Kirk looked intrigued. "He wouldn't have to physically leave any enclosed area if he knew the correct coordinates. Do we know anyone with that kind of technology?"

"There were the StarGates created by the Ancients," Spock said. "All those on Earth were destroyed in the third world war. If that is the technology that Harrison uses, it would be portable technology, possibly technology of aliens we do not yet know."

"So he what? Puts on a helmet, puts in some coordinates and then he's long gone?" McCoy asked. "Wouldn't we see the wormhole?"

"We still have access to security footage," Kirk said. "There are parts of the deck that are unseen, but maybe if we know what to look for, we can find it."

**-**

Harrison appeared just outside of San Francisco, along the shoreline of San Francisco Bay. He could see Alameda across the water. A man approached him dressed similarly, though his jacket was much shorter than Harrison's long coat. They did not have long to speak.

"Did it go as planned?" the man asked. Harrison knew him as Marshall currently. He was Harrison's superior.

"Yes," Harrison reported. "I lured Captain Kirk and the Enterprise to KVX-759. We had a confrontation on the Engineering Deck. They believe I perpetrated the London bombings."

"Then it's in order," Marshall agreed. "We're closing in on the target. We have to keep things to the book. We cannot trust that because we've injected ourselves into these proceedings that they will go accordingly."

"I am aware," Harrison said. "When I joined, it was stressed to me not to interfere and yet, I find myself entrusted with interference. I wonder sometimes if this is too heavy a hand."

"We only know what the records show," Marshall said. "You knew this when you agreed to be John Harrison."

Harrison held Marshall's gaze. He nodded. "Yes." He looked out across the water. "It looks so different, but also like it hasn't changed at all."

Marshall surveyed the bay and nodded. "This is both the time and not the time for sightseeing. Remember who you are and where you are. We can implement phase two once the first move is made."

"Yes, sir," Harrison said. He watched Marshall walk away. Harrison chose to linger just a while longer at the bay before leaving in the opposite direction.

**-**

Kirk's first roommate in Starfleet was Gary Mitchell. Mitchell was a few years younger, but they entered Starfleet Academy in the same year. When the fleet set off for the ill-fated rendezvous with Nero, Mitchell did not go, stuck in San Francisco suffering from a complication with a vaccine for a Romulan fever. Kirk and Mitchell got along well enough and when Kirk had to choose crew going into his first five-year mission, Mitchell had been on his list of candidates from the beginning.

Kirk saw Mitchell farther up the hallway returning from his shift. Mitchell perked up when he saw Kirk and then he smirked, "Something on your mind?"

"Going to try to read my mind?" Kirk asked.

"I can't 'read' minds unless they're special," Mitchell said, his tone teasing. He fell into step with Kirk. "But I can read body language and you're looking like you're a veteran captain today. You're going to go gray before you're forty."

"I'm not a newbie anymore. I've been at this for four years, Gary," Kirk said. He paused at an intersection that would lead to the transporter if they turned right and towards crew quarters if they continued in the direction they were walking.

"Going to meet someone?" Mitchell asked, stopping with Kirk.

"Yeah," Kirk said. "We're transporting a team of scientists and their families from a colony to a research facility out by Deneb IV. If we're good, we might get to have shore leave on Deneb IV." When it appeared Mitchell was not going to leave, Kirk allowed Mitchell to follow and continued to the transporter room.

"I heard they're telepaths down there on Deneb IV," Mitchell said.

"I heard that rumor," Kirk said. "Hoping you can test it out? See if you can find people who won't fall for your magic tricks?"

"I do more than just magic tricks," Mitchell said. He quieted when they entered the transporter room. Kirk nodded to the red shirt operating the transporter controls.

Six blue shirts appeared on the platform, followed by three spouses, and three children. The two boys were very young and the girl had to be early elementary school age. Kirk's eyes scanned their faces. Mitchell discreetly nudged him when Kirk spotted one of the blonde women near the back of the group.

Dr. Carol Marcus saw him at the same moment. Her face became unreadable. From just before the Nero incident up to the week before Kirk shipped out, they had an on again off again relationship. They were two very stubborn, intense people. It got to the point she met his mother and he met her father, but when Kirk shipped out, they both knew the relationship was over and should remain over for good this time.

"Captain Kirk," an older man said and stepped off the platform, "thank you for accommodating our expedition. I am Dr. Renault," he said. "This is my grand-nephew Maurice," he said of the brunette toddler, "I caution you, he has Shalaft's Syndrome. His mother thought time in space would help him with his therapy." Dr. Renault went about introducing the entire team as though someone who went through Command at Starfleet would not know Science Division. There was Dr. Susan Laurie, her wife, and their seven-year-old daughter. There was Dr. Imahara and her husband. There were the Glocks, both holding a doctorate in applied sciences. There was also psychiatrist Dr. Elizabeth Dehner. Last, but not least, was Dr. Marcus and her young son David who peered at Kirk and Mitchell through blonde curls.

"He's two," Dr. Marcus said, her eyes holding Kirk's gaze. She could see his brain doing the math. She did not elaborate if David was almost three or only just two. David was too shy to say anything. Dr. Marcus picked him up so they would not slow the team down when shown to their quarters.

"Welcome to the Enterprise," Kirk said to the science team, almost a little too slowly. His eyes left Dr. Marcus and looked at the group as a whole. He introduced them to himself, Mitchell, and the red shirt behind the transporter controls. "Your quarters are the deck above our science deck. Lt. Commander Mitchell will show you before he goes off shift. If you need anything, there is a computer console in each room and you can ask questions at any time. I'm at your services."

The scientists thanked Kirk and followed Mitchell out of the transporter room. Kirk watched them go. David peered at Kirk curiously over his mother's shoulder, holding Kirk's gaze until the group was out of sight. Kirk ran a hand down his face once the group was gone. Then he remembered that the red shirt was in the room and he quickly exited to head to the bridge.

**-**

It was Delta shift, the equivalent of a graveyard shift if there were proper days and nights. Most of the population of the Enterprise was asleep or preparing for Alpha shift. Spock was in the command chair, unbothered by the slowness of the shift. His mind contemplated how to trap Harrison and what Harrison's goal as a man in black might be.

"Commander," Chekov said as his fingers skimmed along the screen, his eyes triple checking the contents, "the security sweep is abnormal."

Spock moved off the command chair and walked over to peer over Chekov's shoulder. The only other person in the command center with them was an ensign keeping track of external sensors and inter-space communication. There were others on the ship helping Chekov coordinate the internal workings of the ship at various stations throughout the Enterprise.

Chekov leaned back in his chair so Spock could see the readouts better. "I received this from Keenser, sir. He cannot get a proper reading on anyone in Recreation Room C-12, sir."

Spock observed the readings. There were five energy signatures in Recreation Room C-12. However, the readings carried no identification. The security system could not access the video channel. They could access an infrared channel, but the images were fuzzy and distorted. Spock reached over Chekov and brought up a security feed from within the ship. The security feed did not correspond to the infrared scan. Just as Spock returned to the scan, they watched the five bodies disperse in separate directions.

"Follow that energy reading," Spock said indicating the person leaving towards the south west corner of the screen, "and tell me when you have identified the individual." He stepped over to the communication center. "Ensign, send a communication to Captain Kirk. Code Delta Sigma 735." The ensign obeyed.

Kirk appeared within ten minutes. He adjusted the hem of his shirt so it would lie flat along his torso. "Quiet emergency? Did you miss me that much?" He ran a hand through his hair to make sure it looked right and not just rolled out of bed.

"Yes, we are looking at questionable actions," Spock answered. "Keenser noticed energy readings that had no identities attached. When Ensign Chekov brought up the security feed, the computer did not count any individuals in that room. We also could not access the video channel for that conference room."

"Did you scan the system for errors?" Kirk asked. He walked over to the empty helm station and brought up the security feeds and readings in questions. The video channel showed no one currently in Conference Room C-12.

"I found a script that might have caused the feed to display incorrectly," Chekov said. "Would you like me to remove it?"

Kirk's eyes scanned Chekov's screen. "Not yet. I want to know who's involved. I want evidence. For now, we let them think that we didn't notice. It's Delta shift. Things shouldn't slip by, but sometimes they can. I want you to keep an eye on this, Chekov, and report to me privately if this behavior continues and if you can attribute it to anyone. We don't know what this is yet."

**-**

Dr. Marcus and Dehner stood on one of the observation decks. It was Beta shift and the experiments they brought aboard did not need their attention currently. Dehner stepped closer to the window and spoke, "These are wonderful windows. Except the best parts of space are always too far away to see most of the time. It's a metaphor for all of Starfleet, don't you think? All these wonderful promises but so much emptiness."

"But in space, the 'promises' exist beyond the emptiness," Dr. Marcus said. She folded her arms. It was a lot of dark beyond the window. It put her on edge.

"We have until we reach the colony," Dehner said. "Are you going to start questioning it?"

"I don't see how this will help anyone," Dr. Marcus said. "I know I'm not as good at it as you are, but it's like how they used to punish people for being something other people didn't understand."

"Except we're the ones who aren't understood in this analogy," Dehner said. "You don't have to be as good as me or Mitchell to understand what this is like. Think what you could achieve, Carol, if they would let us really use our skills."

"Liz…" Dr. Marcus sighed. "What about David? His father isn't exactly known for bending spoons."

Before Dehner could answer, they women heard one of the turbolifts whirr. Dehner and Dr. Marcus quieted and glanced back at the doors. Kirk appeared. Dehner touched Dr. Marcus's arm reassuringly and then she took her leave with a respectful, "Captain," on her way into the turbolift Kirk exited.

Kirk approached Dr. Marcus, watching her body language out of the corner of his eye. For the most part, he looked out at the emptiness before them. Finally, he looked directly at her, glad she had not left. "Carol…."

"He's two, Jim," Dr. Marcus said. "Don't jump to conclusions."

"I know, but there's the two where he's almost three," there was a weight to his words that tapered as he continued speaking, "or he could just be two. I can do the math," Kirk said. "I'm not angry you didn't tell me," a lie but he had the diplomatic training of any in Command. "Just don't lie to me now."

Dr. Marcus observed Kirk for a long moment. Her lips pressed into a very firm line. "That last night, I knew what I was getting into, we both did. Every single time we both knew," she reached out and touched his face to direct his attention and keep her gaze, "and, we agreed to live our lives separately. So, here I am, honoring that agreement."

"But, if he is my son, I would –" before Kirk could finish his thought, the red alert echoed around them. Kirk went over to a nearby communication station. "Talk to me, Spock."

"We have reports of a carbon-based fire on Science Deck A. The sprinkler system appears to be functioning on only a portion of the deck," Spock said. "Lt. Commander Giotto," the chief of security, "is already en route. We can no longer establish communication with Science Deck A."

"Alright. I'm close. I'll rendezvous with Giotto and see if anyone needs help. Kirk out." Kirk stepped away from the communication station. Dr. Marcus fell into step with him. "Where are you going?" Kirk asked.

"I'm going to help," Dr. Marcus said. "Science Deck A is where we've been working."

Kirk did not have time to argue and he knew he would not win. Since it was a type of fire, the turbolifts would not service Science Deck A. Kirk put in his access code and opened a door to a set of service ladders. "Two levels down and we'll be on the right floor." There was no visible smoke, but they both could smell burnt plants and chemicals. Kirk started down the ladder and Dr. Marcus followed. When they reached the second landing, they each retrieved a small device from their pockets that would allow them to breathe despite the smoke. Kirk glanced at Dr. Marcus to make sure they were both ready and then opened up the service door so they could enter Science Deck A.

Everything was wet and the sprinkler system still rained. No one was in this room or the next three. The communication systems were waterproof, but their power supply was not working. Service lights guided Kirk and Dr. Marcus. When they arrived at the fourth room, they met Giotto and one of his men. The two red shirts were at a door, trying to pry it open with their strength.

"Lt. Commander," Kirk said. His eyes scanned the scene before them. His eyebrows furrowed. There were windows between all of the rooms on the deck. All of the windows belonging to the jammed room were sooty. He could see that the smoke was still moving inside the room, but Kirk saw no evidence of existing flames.

"The door won't open," Giotto reported. "Excuse my lack of respect, but there are people in there, Captain and the manual override jammed."

Kirk and Dr. Marcus began to help the men. With their help, the group finally opened the door. Smoke trapped inside spewed forth into the cleaner room. Giotto and his men entered first. The door at the opposite end of the room and all the windows were all jammed shut. The room smelled akin to burnt pork.

"Captain," Giotto motioned Kirk over to him. Kirk looked past the remnants of the burnt out lab table and closed his eyes briefly. There were three charred bodies. He could not tell the genders of any of them. "Okay," Kirk said, trying not to breathe too deeply, "This is a need to know situation. Hernandez, take Dr. Marcus with you. Tell Dr. McCoy what we've found."

One of the red shirts led Dr. Marcus from the room. She looked back over her shoulder. She was pale and upset, but did not argue. Dr. Marcus understood why she had to leave. She was not a member of the crew. She could even be a suspect.

Once Dr. Marcus left, Kirk began to give orders to the security team. "We need the sprinkler system turned off once we're certain this won't catch fire again. We're losing evidence from outside this room. I want a full investigation and I need it done before the end of Delta shift. Medical will take care of the bodies. I need you to find physical evidence. I need you to be able to tell me not only how this fire started, but why the sprinkler system failed, why the communication systems are down, and why the escape routes were jammed shut.

"We're going to quarantine this section of ship until things dry out and the investigation ends," Kirk added. "No one mentions the bodies or the extent of the damage of the fire to anyone except Commander Spock, Dr. McCoy, Lt. Commander Giotto, or myself. I'm going to issue each of you a communicator until the com stations are running again. Keep me informed of any emergencies or problems that come up. Any questions?"

For now the red shirt team had none. Kirk got out a data pad and sent the communicator request on ahead of the red shirt going to retrieve them. McCoy appeared along with Chapel and another nurse. Kirk drew McCoy aside while the nurses waited for security to finish documenting the bodies.

"Dear God," McCoy said. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure yet," Kirk said so only McCoy could hear. "I need to know who they were, Bones. I also want to keep what we saw on a need to know basis. It's staying between you, Spock, Giotto, and me."

"Understood," McCoy said. He looked around at the mess. "It never ceases to amaze me what humans will do to each other even now."

**To be continued….**


	2. Chapter 2

**Fandom** Star Trek (AOS), specifically _Star Trek into Darkness_  
**Character(s)/Pairing(s)** Christine Chapel, Pavel Chekov, Giotto, John Harrison, Jim Kirk, Admiral Marcus, Carol Marcus, Leonard McCoy, Gary Mitchell, Jean-Luc Picard, Janice Rand, Montgomery Scott, Spock, Hikaru Sulu, Nyota Uhura; past Carol/Jim  
**Genre** Alternate Universe/Crossover/Drama/Scifi  
**Rating** PG-13  
**Word Count** 5,027 of 17,348  
**Disclaimer** Star Trek c. Paramount, CBS, Roddenberry  
**Summary** The Enterprise pursues a mysterious "man in black," who can seemingly appear and disappear at will, as an ESPer coup comes to fruition. Meanwhile, an undercover temporal agent balances the historical record and reality so other agents can fix the chaos caused by Nero.  
**Warning(s)** character death, death in general, mention of immolation, violence, spoilers for trailers, promotional material, promos, and interviews as of March 10, 2013. This is conjecture based on many things released before the UK/International trailer.  
**Chapter Warning(s)** character death, violence, mentions of immolation, spoilers up through March 10, 2013  
**Notes** This started with the crack theory that Cumberbatch was playing a temporal agent. My brother asked what if that temporal agent was Jean-Luc Picard under a false name, and then the rest went from there. I used many characters from TOS to flesh out the story as well as some original characters to fill minor roles when necessary. This fanfic assumes the Enterprise would have some sort of security monitoring system. This fanfic also assumes that the TOS system of force fields that deliver static shocks is how the brig operates.  
**Chapter** Two, in which the rebellion begins and the Enterprise loses a crewmember and gains a prisoner.  
**All Chapters** here  
**Previous Chapter** here  
**Next Chapter** here

_**The Man in Black **_**  
Chapter Two**

Harrison and Marshall sat under a bridge in Tokyo. No one paid them attention in the cold spring evening. Harrison looked to his colleague when Marshall began to speak, "Our woman on the inside is dead. Everything is following the correct course," Marshall said. "Our mission is almost complete."

"You told me once each rift repair is different," Harrison asked. "When will we know this one is over? How do we know we're not going to let something bigger than Nero in?"

"We're not infallible," Marshall said. "But, we'll know it's over when the agents working to fix the actual vortex say they're finished. You and I are here to make sure their work goes unnoticed as you know. I know we try to stay inconspicuous, but the history books tell us that we have a role to play this time."

"I am aware," Harrison said. "Is it time?"

"Yes." Marshall stood straighter and took a deep breath. "You're going to Deneb IV. They're going to capture you. Remember, you're John Harrison."

"Born 2229 in London, England," Harrison finished. "We only have to worry if I receive the standard medical exam."

"Let's hope things get too busy for that," Marshall said. He looked at Harrison. "This is where things are going to become difficult. We know you're their 'man in black' and that your code name is mentioned in a few documents declassified recently. But, what happens to you once you board that ship is still a mystery. You might not come back."

"That was always a possibility," Harrison said. "I am prepared."

Marshall reached out and clasped Harrison's shoulder tightly. "Good luck. I hope to see you on the other side."

**-**

"…and as they remain in our thoughts, so shall they remain in space," Kirk said as he looked out at the faces gathered in a large room used for things such as weddings and, in this case, funerals. "Dr. Laurie's wife and Dr. Imahara's husband have both requested that their loved ones jettison as capsules of ash. Dr. Renault will continue with us until his loved ones retrieve him." Kirk's eyes caught onto Renault's grandnephew. Maurice sat between the Glocks and Uhura. "There will be a few words from anyone who wishes to speak and then the families will jettison their loved ones."

Kirk left the podium and sat down between McCoy and Spock. Susan Laurie, Hanaa Imahara, and Renault were monitoring experiments when the fire broke out in the lab. The team investigating had not determined a cause of the fire yet, but the fire had been fast to ignite and fast to extinguish, according the autopsy and other evidence. Kirk had notified Starfleet of the tragedy and received word that those in the science party were to head to their destination and disembark whether the investigation was closed at the time the Enterprise docked.

The funeral ended with a few parting words from Kirk and then the crowd slowly dispersed. After the last straggler left, Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Dr. Marcus remained.

"Dr. McCoy, Commander Spock, you two can stay," Dr. Marcus said when it looked like McCoy and Spock might discreetly exit. "I have to talk to all of you."

Kirk furrowed his eyebrows. His eyes moved between the blue shirts gathered around him. "What is it, Carol?" He was curious but concerned.

Dr. Marcus opened her mouth and no sound came out. Her hands waved as though that would help her remember how to breathe deeper. She let out a gasped wheeze. McCoy instantly stepped forward and took out his medical scanner, aiming it at her neck. "Keep calm," McCoy said, "breathe slowly." He guided Dr. Marcus to sit on one of the chairs. She still struggled for breath.

"What is it?" Kirk asked.

"According to the scanner, her lungs won't fill with air," McCoy said. "It's not allergies, but…." All of the potential options visibly ran across McCoy's face. He touched his fingers gently to her throat, finding nothing on it.

"Bones…" Kirk said with tension.

McCoy got out a hypospray, but just before he could use it, Dr. Marcus gasped for breath. The color began to return to her face. She swayed and shuddered. Dr. Marcus' head sank onto her hands as she began to cough and try to take in air. "S…Sorry," Dr. Marcus managed to wheeze. "I can breathe now…"

"You're coming down to Sickbay," McCoy said. "Can you stand yet?"

Dr. Marcus attempted to stand. She began to sag to the side and McCoy propped her up carefully on her right.

"Little help, Jim," McCoy said.

Kirk helped steady Dr. Marcus. When Kirk let go, Dr. Marcus was standing without wobbling. McCoy kept hold of her right arm just in case. "Come on, Dr. Marcus."

"Before you go," Spock asked, "could I borrow your medical scanner, Doctor?"

McCoy eyed Spock. "Alright, but bring it back to Sickbay when you're done." He handed the scanner to Spock. Then McCoy carefully guided Dr. Marcus out of the room. She seemed to be steadily improving.

Kirk watched them go and then looked back at Spock. "What are you doing?"

Spock waved the scanner along his own forearm. He tilted his head and read the findings. "Fascinating." His eyes moved from the scanner to Kirk. "This read out is accurate. It recorded my unique biology and signs of a regrown fracture from my youth." He looked at Kirk.

"Why would it?" Kirk watched Spock check the scanner against an injury along Jim's shoulder from a few years ago.

"The doctor said that her lungs would not fill with air," Spock said. "According to the read out, there was no constriction to her throat or signs of an allergic reaction. Her lungs simply would not perform."

"Is that even possible?" Kirk thought it sounded near-impossible. Especially since Dr. Marcus started to recover so quickly.

"It's…interesting," Spock said. "Dr. McCoy will know more once he's assessed Dr. Marcus. What concerns me is the timing of the event. She specifically had something to tell us."

"Is there a way to make someone's lungs just stop functioning because you want them to be quiet?" Kirk asked.

"I do not know," Spock said, "but this scanner is functioning properly. We should speak with Dr. McCoy once he finishes his assessment. I would also suggest looking into our security feed from immediately after the funeral."

"I was thinking the same thing," Kirk said. "That group Chekov told us about, the fire, and now this." His fist clenched and his jaw set. "I need answers Spock. This is my ship. Everyone aboard trusts me to bring us home as safe as possible. We could be safer. There will be death, but it shouldn't be like this."

"I had Ensign Chekov and Lt. Commander Scott go through the security logs and look for any inconsistencies with the systems," Spock said. "They found ten over the course of the past two years. The first inconsistency was star date 2262.28 at 1428 hours. There are no discrepancies preceding that moment."

Kirk ran a hand through his hair. "We should cross check the dates with anything significant. See who was on away teams. Figure out what started these things. Look for some kind of correlation." He sighed. "Let's talk to Chekov and Scotty. We need to see if we can't speed things up without making mistakes."

**-**

The research facility promised a return to normalcy for those left from the science team. Renault's grandnephew was staying aboard the Enterprise so he could reunite with his parents who were heading to rendezvous with the Enterprise. Laurie and Imahara's spouses planned to continue with the science team before deciding where to go and what to do. Kirk, Spock, and Dr. McCoy gathered in the transport room with the science team.

"We hope you have a safe journey," Kirk said to the group.

"Thank you, Captain Kirk for having us," Dr. David Glock said. "We're sorry about all of this trouble."

"We're sorry for your losses," Kirk said. They exchanged handshakes.

The team said goodbye to Spock, McCoy, and Kirk in turn before stepping up onto the transporter platform. Finally, only Dr. Marcus and David were left. Kirk reached into his pocket. "Hey," he said to David, "you want something?" He held out his hand. In it was a plastic Starfleet insignia designed to attach to children's clothing when they wanted to play pretend. It had the command insignia on it.

David looked at the badge shyly. He looked at Dr. Marcus curiously.

"You can take it if you want it," Dr. Marcus said.

David carefully took the toy badge and murmured a very quiet thank you when prompted.

"Good luck, Jim," Dr. Marcus said. She stepped up onto the platform and set David down so they could stand separately when energized.

"You too," Kirk said. He watched as the group of scientists beamed out of the ship to the waiting science facility. The transporter room was quiet until the science facility reported everyone made it to their facility safely.

"Let's go to Deneb IV," Kirk said. "We've got scheduled observations and if it all goes well, maybe some shore leave."

**-**

Deneb IV was home to many telepathic groups of humanoids. One of the most open groups to Starfleet was the Bandi. The Bandi were made up of several groups that shared a common belief system. When the away team touched down to assess the planet for possible shore leave, they found a small group of Bandi settled in a small valley surrounded by shallow, wide hills. The settlement's leader welcomed the away team and encouraged Kirk, Mitchell, Uhura, and Scott to take a meal with his family and various community leaders to discuss a shore leave agreement.

At first, Kirk thought it was a trick of his eyes. He thought maybe he really did need this shore leave as much as any other crewmember. Then, he saw it again. A bit of the meat floated from the plate of the leader's daughter to Gary's plate and then, just as subtly, some of the rice-like carbohydrate floated from Gary's plate to the daughter's plate. Kirk did not remember telekinesis being part of the report on the Bandi, but this was so subtle that perhaps no one witnessed it before now. However, the more Kirk noticed the movements, the more he realized Mitchell and the daughter were taking turns manipulating the food. He was unaware that Mitchell could use telekinesis.

Kirk waited for a lull in the conversation at the table. "Hey, Gary," Kirk said. He counted in his head how many seconds it would take Mitchell to respond.

When Kirk got to thirty-a-thousand in his head, the daughter's eyes shifted to Kirk and Mitchell's attention with them.

"What'd you say, Jim?" Mitchell asked.

"I said, 'Hey,' but I wanted to hear what you thought about the boundaries for the shore leave," Kirk said. He watched more than listened to Mitchell join the conversation. He also kept an eye on the daughter, though he tried to be covert so he would not give the wrong impression.

The Bandi agreed to let the crew of the Enterprise use the surrounding area for shore leave. Soon the crew rotation for shore leave began. Groups rotated based on the start of their work shifts. Each group had an hour on the planet if they so desired. Senior officers could extend their hours if necessary. Near the end of shore leave, Kirk found Mitchell alone. "Come with me?" Kirk asked.

"You look like you've got something on your mind," Mitchell said.

"Yeah, I do," Kirk said. He led them away from the settlement where they could speak alone near the base of one of the hills. Kirk did not know how to start this conversation. He had thought about how to approach the topic since the meal. He knew he had to talk to Mitchell before they went back to the ship.

"It was the SS Valiant," Mitchell said without waiting for Kirk to ask verbally, "when this started." He met Kirk's gaze. "Remember the galactic barrier we passed through? The people who were electrocuted weren't picked at random."

"That was two years ago," Kirk said.

"2262.14," Mitchell confirmed. "Two weeks before 2262.28, that date rolling through your head." He reached out to tap Kirk's temple casually.

Kirk took a step back so Mitchell could not touch him. "What happened to you?"

"Many things," Mitchell said and for a brief moment, his eyes seemed to glow. "I know what you're thinking. You've wanted to talk to me about this since you saw me sharing food with Ilava."

"You lifted it off your plate and put it on hers," Kirk said. "I've never seen you do anything like that before. You even knew there would be people out there even though the last records said settlements weren't in this valley before we ran the planet scans. This goes beyond magic tricks and clever guessing."

"It's never been guessing," Mitchell said. "Jim, you've got a good intuition. You know what this is. You're a part of this. This is the next step."

"Which involves meeting in secret?" Kirk asked. "Do I have to look into everyone who was electrocuted in the barrier?" The numbers would what Kirk saw. It could even explain who would have the capabilities to tamper with the security system.

"I'm not here to destroy you, Jim," Mitchell said. "I'm the reason it's lasted this long. I've wanted to show you what I could really do for a long time now."

"What are you going to do?" Kirk asked.

Mitchell ran a hand through his hair. "Jim, this is bigger than me. This is bigger than the others like me on the ship." His eyes glowed. "This is the future of Starfleet." He held up a hand, calling Kirk's communication device to Mitchell's hand. Once Mitchell grasped it, he pivoted and threw the communication device behind him. It burst when a laser shot hit it.

John Harrison stood a few yards away. He readied for another shot. Mitchell reached out towards Harrison, trying to call the gun to him. The gun was attached to a strap that encircled Harrison's torso. Harrison dug his heels into the dirt, but he was slowly moving closer to Mitchell.

"Go back to your people, Captain Kirk," Harrison said.

"No way," Kirk said. "Mitchell is '[my] people.'"

"He's right, Jim," Mitchell said. "You should go back." His eyes still glowed. He took a step towards Harrison. The ground began to quake almost imperceptibly.

"We have to bring him back alive, Gary," Kirk said. The quaking was becoming stronger. The strap holding Harrison's gun began to crack. "That's an order."

"Then we'll bring him back alive," Mitchell said. "Just, broken." With a snap of his arm, Mitchell yanked the gun and strap from Harrison's body. The quaking became stronger, the planet's tectonic plates responding to a gentle nudge earlier.

"Get down!" Harrison called out to Kirk. Harrison was too far away to get to Kirk in time. He threw himself to the shaking ground and watched Kirk hesitate before mimicking him. Harrison covered his head and Kirk did the same. Mitchell remained standing. As soon as Mitchell's hand touched the trigger of the weapon, it exploded, spreading shrapnel and bits of Mitchell's flesh, blood, hair, and bone. The ground continued shaking until the quake ran its course.

When the shaking subsided, Kirk got up. He looked at the scorch mark on the ground where Mitchell once stood. Everything smelled faintly of cooked flesh and over-extended lasers. Harrison slowly rose to his feet. Kirk saw the movement and pointed his phaser at Harrison. Harrison saw this and slowly raised his hands, keeping his elbows bent.

"I did not come here to kill anyone," Harrison said. "That weapon is programed to destruct if handled by someone it cannot recognize."

"You came here with a weapon," Kirk said. "You've injured other crewmembers. You tried to shoot me."

"Yes," Harrison said, "and I could have easily killed anyone, if I wanted."

Kirk held Harrison's gaze. "You're going to stay where you are. I'm going to call a security team. You'll beam back up with us. Then we will put you in the brig."

"Of course," Harrison said. "I will cooperate." He remained standing, keeping his posture as non-threatening as possible.

Kirk called for a security team. Giotto arrived with three of his men. Once Kirk was back on the ship and Harrison in the Brig, Kirk retreated to the observation deck. He could see the planet from this side of the ship and his cabin had no windows. About the time the last of the shore leave teams should beam back aboard, one of the turbolifts whirred behind Kirk. It opened and Spock strode over.

Spock waited a moment and then he said, "Captain, there is a situation."

Kirk turned so he could look at Spock instead of at Spock's faint reflection. "What is it?"

"Multiple distress calls from multiple points in space, all from Starfleet vessels," Spock said. "There are so many, Lt. Uhura is still working through all of the communications."

"What are they saying?" Kirk asked.

Spock did not look away or blink. "Rebellion."

**-**

Harrison was not one for children. The younger they were, the more annoying they seemed. Yet, here was a small child standing in front of his cell in the Brig nonetheless. Maurice had his fingers in his mouth and stared at Harrison as though Harrison would psychically know what he needed. Harrison knew he would be an uncle soon and he supposed he would have to figure out how to cope with children to get through that if he returned home. "You should not be here," Harrison told the child.

Maurice scrunched up his nose in pain and took his fingers from his mouth. "Grand-père…?" He looked confused and then seemed to answer his own question in barely a whisper, "No. It's too dark."

Harrison frowned at Maurice's unnaturally quiet voice for a child of his age. Harrison scrutinized Maurice's face and ears. There were fixtures in the boy's ears to help muffle sound. Harrison carefully signed using an Earth standard sign language, 'I am no one's grandfather,' at least as far as he was aware. He liked to think he was still too young for such a thing. 'How did you get here?'

Maurice's face lit up when Harrison used sign language. Maurice was quick to sign, grateful not to use sound. 'No one is around.' He frowned. 'I don't like it.'

Harrison walked over to the edge of his cell. He could hear the electro-field door snapping the closer he stood to it. Maurice covered his ears. From this vantage point, Harrison could see no guards. Harrison stepped away from the force field. When he had Maurice's attention again, he signed, 'There is a storage room a deck above us. You should go there and hide in a closet.'

'Why?' Maurice asked.

Harrison's lips drew together into a fine line. 'Bad people are coming. They won't be looking for you. When it's over, someone will come find you.'

Maurice shifted his weight back and forth, like a little dance. Then he stopped moving and asked, 'What's your name?'

'If I tell you my name, will you go hide?' Harrison asked. Maurice nodded. 'J-O-H-N,' Harrison signed. 'That is my name.'

'I'm M-A-U-R-I-C-E,' the child signed. 'I'll go hide.' He ran off on his own accord.

Harrison watched him leave. "Of course…" he murmured to himself. "I suppose it is his nature to question me." Harrison took a deep breath. From the cell, he could see the ship's chronometer. It was 1856 star date 2264.257. He knew the rebellion must have begun at 0900 in San Francisco and quickly spread to every Starfleet base, out post, academy, and vessel. The Enterprise would be last. That was what the history books said at least.

**-**

It looked like no one was on the ship. Of course, Kirk and Spock knew that the security team and various other crew and passengers must be aboard. Not everyone went down to the planet's surface and most should have returned by now. Kirk led them over to one of the computer consoles. "Computer, how many life forms are aboard this vessel?"

"Three-hundred and ninety-five, Captain."

"That is one less than we should have," Spock said.

"Yeah, we're missing Gary. It's expected," Kirk said. "I just haven't recorded it yet." Kirk typed some controls into the computer and brought up the security interface. "Four people on the bridge, five people in Sickbay, three in Engineering…"

"It appears everyone else except ourselves are in their cabins," Spock said. "Only the most necessary personnel are stationed."

"It's Gamma shift," Kirk said. "Why does it look like Delta shift? Usually there are more people active on the ship after a shore leave."

Before Spock could venture a guess, the communication station near them whistled. "Captain, we're receiving a hail from Admiral Marcus," Uhura said.

Kirk glanced at Spock. "Transfer it here."

The security interface faded away and Admiral Marcus appeared on the screen. He was in a shuttlecraft. "Captain Kirk. Commander Spock," Admiral Marcus said, "I trust you've heard the news across Starfleet."

"Yes," Kirk said. "What can we do for you, sir?"

"The crew of the SS Excalibur is compromised. I was forced onto a shuttle, but my oxygen supply will run out in two hours," Admiral Marcus said. "You're the closest place I've got. I can rendezvous in thirty minutes."

Kirk shifted his weight. "I can't promise the Enterprise isn't compromised too, sir, but we can let you come aboard at your own risk."

"Better than dying of suffocation," Admiral Marcus said. "I will rendezvous with you in thirty minutes. Marcus out."

The screen returned to the security interface. Kirk closed out of the interface and looked at Spock. "We need to have this ship secure. We can't just assume guilt. Options?" He turned away from the communication station and started walking towards the nearest turbolift.

Spock fell in step with Kirk. Then he stopped walking. "It would be unwise for both of us to take a turbolift at the same time. If we stay together in a confined space that is easily manipulated, both of us could be trapped in the lift easily."

Kirk nodded. It made sense. "You go to the bridge, make sure things are all right. I'm going to talk to Chekov and Scotty and then go to the Shuttle Bay B. I have an idea how we can figure out who might be up to something. Maybe we can isolate anyone suspicious."

Kirk reached out touched Spock's arm briefly. "Let's keep her in one piece, Spock." Then Kirk started off for the crew's cabin deck. The computer told Kirk that both Chekov and Scott were in their cabins like most of the crew and passengers. Kirk buzzed Chekov's door first and then he and Chekov arrived at Scott's quarters. Scott let them in, both he and Chekov acting as though they only just woken despite the fact Scott should be on shift and Chekov would normally be on shift except he had just finished his shore leave and was given a grace period to clean up after shore leave before reporting to his station. The three gathered around a round table in Scott's room.

Kirk finish explaining the situation and his potential solution to keep the problematic portions of the crew distracted and then potentially isolated from the rest of the ship. "…what do you think? Will that work?" Kirk asked.

Scott leaned back in his seat to think. Chekov leaned forward ever so slightly. "It should work, Captain," Chekov said. "Unless they can anticipate it."

"That's the key," Kirk said, "but they can't anticipate everything."

"We'll have to be careful," Scott said, "or we might actually damage the ship."

"I know," Kirk said, "but I trust your skills." He put his hands on the table and then his intertwined his fingers and leaned forward, speaking in a low voice even though all of the communication systems were offline in the room on purpose. "This does not leave this room, gentlemen. Don't explain it to Spock or Sulu or Uhura or anyone. I want everyone's genuine reactions. I need everyone's genuine reactions." Kirk leaned back and looked at the chronometer. "We have fifteen minutes to make this happen. I want you to run the analysis and when it's run, find me and hand me your findings like it was any other thing I would sign off on."

Scott and Chekov agreed. Kirk slipped out of Scott's quarters first and made his way towards Shuttle Bay B. Chekov left after and Scott left last. Scott and Chekov headed to Engineering as fast as they could without raising suspicion.

**-**

There were no guards in the brig still. Harrison worked quietly, quickly. No one had set any ship-wide alarms yet either. There was no indication of the ship running abnormally other than the guards' absences. Escape was a perplexing task. The brig was unlike any brig he saw before, though he knew essentially how this one functioned. If he were an engineer, he would know where to cut into the wall and disarm the force field by cutting some wires. However, Harrison did not know where or which wires. He did not want to make the Enterprise's situation direr than it already was. Harrison tried to recall his classes, tried to remember what he knew about why the brig had to change. He reached out and touched the wall, saw a slight reflection from his hand in it, and remembered. There was a fatal flaw to the system and he would need something reflective to exploit it.

Harrison reached into his mouth and fished for something in his molars. The device was the size of a dental crown and colored to match Harrison's enamel. He made sure he was still alone and then turned his back to the security system to get to work.

Once dried, the device became a low-level laser, designed to cut through objects but not flesh or bone. Harrison cut a small square out of the wall. It was just small enough he could place it against a certain section of the frame without shocking himself in the process if he was lucky. Harrison approached the doorframe. The doorframe was made up of alternating patterns of color. Harrison took a moment to recall which color he should put the piece on. If he chose the wrong color, he might receive a shock so powerful that he would be unconscious for hours. He knew that this cell security system would be replaced by the end of the year. Harrison never thought about why. He had taken for granted it was like any other upgrade to any technology.

"The fatal flaw," he murmured and committed to a green panel near the manual override on the outside of the cell.

Once the piece of all reflected the energy of the field, a loud humming grew in volume and intensity. The door began to flicker. Harrison turned away and shielded his eyes. He could hear electricity cracking in the air and he could smell the electricity scorching the metal. When the noise and light faded, Harrison assessed his work. There were still small sparks, but when Harrison reached out, he found the force field disabled. Harrison stepped carefully out of his cell.

There was still no one. There was no alarm. Harrison stuck to the wall and navigated out of the brig. He knew how to compromise the rebellion. He would need phasers. Harrison started down a hall towards the service ladder access. Suddenly, the red alert sirens went up across the entire ship. Harrison felt the ship shake as though impacted by a projectile of some sort. People began to emerge from their quarters, heading to tactical stations. Harrison carefully fell in step with a group of people and then slowed his walk after they passed a man about his height and weight leaving a cabin. Once the crew moved on, Harrison doubled back and approached the cabin door. He looked around and then carefully removed his tiny laser and adjusted the intensity to run it along the door's sensors. After a moment, the door opened and he slipped into the cabin as the ship shuddered from an impact again.

**-**

When the red alert went up, Kirk arrived at the bridge just in time for the second impact. No one could detect a source. There were no more impacts and the Admiral would soon arrive. Kirk gave Scott and Chekov an order to investigate the incident as he told them he would when the time came. He left the bridge for Shuttle Bay B soon after the red alert subsided. There was no time for formalities like dress uniforms, but Kirk did observe proper posture and walked across Shuttle Bay B to greet Admiral Marcus in person once the doors were closed.

The Admiral's uniform looked harassed. His face, however, was the picture of stoic control. After they exchanged greetings, Kirk said, "We have a situation that's still unfolding. Anything you can tell me about what's going on could keep it from happening here."

"It will be difficult if it's already begun," Admiral Marcus said. "Is there a place we could speak privately?"

"Yeah," Kirk said. "There's a conference room nearby." He led the way. Kirk knew that the information Scott and Chekov were gathering would take time. He knew it was too soon to expect either of them with a datapad. Kirk kept a casual eye out just in case, but neither Chekov nor Scott appeared before he reached the conference door. Kirk opened the conference room and let Admiral Marcus enter first. Then Kirk followed and let the door lock behind them.

**To be continued….**


	3. Chapter 3

**Fandom** Star Trek (AOS), specifically _Star Trek into Darkness_  
**Character(s)/Pairing(s)** Christine Chapel, Pavel Chekov, Giotto, John Harrison, Jim Kirk, Admiral Marcus, Carol Marcus, Leonard McCoy, Gary Mitchell, Jean-Luc Picard, Janice Rand, Montgomery Scott, Spock, Hikaru Sulu, Nyota Uhura; past Carol/Jim  
**Genre** Alternate Universe/Crossover/Drama/Scifi  
**Rating** PG-13  
**Word Count** 6,164 of 17,348  
**Disclaimer** Star Trek c. Paramount, CBS, Roddenberry  
**Summary** The Enterprise pursues a mysterious "man in black," who can seemingly appear and disappear at will, as an ESPer coup comes to fruition. Meanwhile, an undercover temporal agent balances the historical record and reality so other agents can fix the chaos caused by Nero.  
**Warning(s)** character death, death in general, mention of immolation, violence, spoilers for trailers, promotional material, promos, and interviews as of March 10, 2013. This is conjecture based on many things released before the UK/International trailer.  
**Chapter Warning(s)** violence, spoilers up through March 10, 2013  
**Notes** This started with the crack theory that Cumberbatch was playing a temporal agent. My brother asked what if that temporal agent was Jean-Luc Picard under a false name, and then the rest went from there. I used many characters from TOS to flesh out the story as well as some original characters to fill minor roles when necessary. This fanfic assumes the Enterprise would have some sort of security monitoring system. This fanfic also assumes that the TOS system of force fields that deliver static shocks is how the brig operates.  
**Chapter** Three, in which the crew must work with Harrison to save the ship.  
**All Chapters** here  
**Previous Chapter** here

_**The Man in Black **_**  
Chapter Three**

Spock left Sulu in charge of the bridge so he could check on Chekov and Scott's progress while Kirk was indisposed with Admiral Marcus. Spock could hear Chekov and Scott speaking quietly at one of the Engineering stations as he approached.

"…'s harder with the Admiral here," Chekov said.

"I know," Scott said, "but we'll do what we have to." He leaned over the computer they worked at. "Did you see Giotto in any of that?"

Chekov reached out to adjust the image on the screen. He did not seem to be aware of Spock.

Scott checked over his shoulder and almost jumped. "Commander," he greeted Spock.

Chekov did jump just a little but then relaxed when he saw Spock. "Hello, Commander."

"Gentleman," Spock said firmly. He stepped forward slowly and peered at the computer terminal. There was a security interface open and various crewmembers movements mapped out. "How is the progress? Do you know what caused the Enterprise to shudder?"

Chekov and Scott exchanged a look. There was something about Spock that told them Spock already suspected Kirk's plan. Now that the red alert was no longer and Spock had no acted out of the ordinary, they were allowed to speak with Spock about the orders Kirk gave them earlier.

"We're still monitoring the security system," Chekov said. "Captain Kirk asked us to look for inconsistencies during emergencies." Chekov quickly brought up some data points. "We noticed that while there was no tampering, Lt. Commander Giotto hasn't appeared in the footage." Chekov brought up an image of the chief of security's face and checked it against the footage of the crew moving throughout the ship. Giotto's face could not be seen on any camera.

"Computer," Spock said, "locate Lt. Commander Giotto."

"Lt. Commander Giotto is in the brig," the computer replied.

Seconds later, Sulu appeared on a com link on the computer system. "Commander, our chief of security reported a situation." He looked from Spock to Scott to Chekov.

"What is it, Lt. Sulu?" Spock asked.

Sulu's eyes returned to Spock. "Our prisoner escaped," Sulu said. "Lt. Commander Giotto is rounding up men to start a search. I tried to contact Captain Kirk, but he's out of communication." Sulu lowered his voice so it would not carry in the cacophonous Engineering deck, "Giotto said that there was no one guarding the brig."

Scott brought up the security feed from the brig over the past few hours. They watched Harrison interact with Maurice and then watched Harrison break out of his cell, disappear into the crowd, and then obtain a command uniform. Once in the uniform, Harrison began deliberately evading the cameras.

"Computer, I need the location of Captain Kirk and the location and direction of prisoner John Harrison," Spock said.

There was a small pause. "Captain Kirk is in Conference room J-22. Prisoner Harrison is in D-24 heading towards service ladders 5D."

Spock assessed Scott and Chekov. "I need to know if he goes up the service ladder or down. Continue looking for potential threats. Try to establish communication with the captain once every ten minutes. If that proves unsuccessful after three tries, report it to me." Spock turned and left the Engineering deck so Scott and Chekov could get back to work.

**-**

"What I need to say is very sensitive and we can't know who's listening in," Admiral Marcus explained. He disengaged the communication stations in the conference room. Once he knew that they would not be overheard or interrupted, Admiral Marcus asked, "What do you know of the ESPer program?"

Kirk sat beside Admiral Marcus when the admiral sat at the table. "Uh…I know a couple people who were in it. I know they're good with their intuition." Kirk keenly remembered Mitchell by that hill. He decided not to mention it or the events at the galactic barrier for now. He had to get in front of all these things. The crew depended on it.

Admiral Marcus nodded. "Carol isn't the only blue shirt in the family," he said. "I began my Starfleet career by creating that program twenty years ago." He shook his head. "I knew I had talent and I wanted to understand it. Carol tested a little lower and my grandson David," Admiral Marcus paused and almost smiled while remaining quite stern, "he's on and beyond both of us."

"You tested your grandson?" Kirk asked.

"Yes," Admiral Marcus said. "He's not in the program or an experiment. I was just curious how strong he might be." Admiral Marcus surveyed Kirk. "Have you ever been tested, Captain?"

"No, sir," Kirk said. "It's not my thing." He eyes did not move from Admiral Marcus. He felt a growing worry but he tried not to consciously acknowledge it.

"I heard the Enterprise reached the galactic barrier over two years ago," Admiral Marcus said. He too kept eye contact with Kirk. "I read the report," Admiral Marcus said, "including the miraculous survival of some electrocuted crewmembers." He intertwined his fingers and leaned his forearms against the tabletop. He looked away from Kirk at his hands contemplatively. "What if we only noticed the most severely affected crewmembers? What if there were a variety of reactions to that electric storm?"

Kirk did not respond immediately. When Admiral Marcus remained silent, Kirk finally asked, "How does this help us? Starfleet is under a threat. I don't see how the galactic barrier relates to your expulsion from the SS Excalibur," there was a small pause, "sir." Kirk had an inkling. He could almost tie the entire story in his head, but he knew he was still missing pieces.

"You listed the electrocuted crew members," Admiral Marcus said, "but did you consider all the crew members who felt a small burst of static electricity? Who might have been electrocuted, but did not fall unconscious? How many people were affected without even realizing?"

"I don't have time for games," Kirk said. "Whatever happened to the other ships might happen here. I have a duty to my crew to prevent us from ending up like the SS Excalibur or the SS Valliant."

"I told you David's level is much higher than the rest of the family. My research suggests that would mean that his father can't be psy blind," Admiral Marcus paused. "You were the only man involved with Carol that year. What happened to you when you were in the barrier, Captain?"

Kirk's posture became more relaxed, but also more intense. "What are you implying, sir?" The tone of his "sir" bordered on disrespectful.

"I want to know," Admiral Marcus said, "whose side you are on."

**-**

Scott reported that Harrison went up the service ladder. Giotto took the floor above the floor Harrison accessed the service ladder. Spock decided to take the floor above that one. Spock rounded a corner to access a nearby turbolift when McCoy appeared.

"Finally," McCoy said. "I can't get in contact with Jim." He fell into step with Spock. "There's something you need to know about that Harrison, if that's even his name."

Spock slowed ever so slightly, but continued to walk. "He's escaped, Doctor, anything that might help would be appreciated." He opened the turbolift and let McCoy enter it first before following. Spock engaged the turoblift.

"I took a bio scan, standard procedure," McCoy said, "except his scan isn't standard. His bio scan isn't in any known database. He's got anti-bodies to diseases humans aren't supposed to survive. He's also recovered from Shalaft's Syndrome."

"Shalaft's Syndrome is very rare," Spock said. "It's passed through the Y chromosome and only in Earthlings."

"Yeah, it is," McCoy said. "It's why I compared their bio scans." McCoy stopped the turbolift just before they could reach their destination. At Spock's raised eyebrow, McCoy said, "Harrison isn't Maurice's father, he's Maurice's son."

Spock regarded McCoy in silence. "This is not the time for jokes, Doctor. Harrison is loose on this ship and I am en route to intercept him."

"It's not a joke," McCoy said. He handed over his datapad. "Look at the common alleles. They're definitely father and son. We know Harrison is the son –"

"Because the marker indicating Shalaft's Syndrome shows a mutation," Spock finished.

"It's likely that Harrison's Shalaft's Syndrome was more severe," McCoy said. "If he was the father, he would have passed on the mutation. It would also explain how he has antibodies for Klingon fever, which has boiled every human brain afflicted that we know."

Spock restarted the turbolift and handed the datapad back to McCoy. "Accompany me, Doctor. We should confront Harrison with this information and discover the truth."

"What about Jim?" McCoy asked. "Nobody can get in touch with him."

"He's speaking with Admiral Marcus," Spock said. "There's a situation across Starfleet. We're the last to be affected by our estimates." The doors opened and they exited onto one of the residential decks. This particular room was designed for recreation and relaxation.

Harrison stood over a computer console in the far end of the room. He was trying to hack into the computer system. When he heard the turbolift open, he looked up with a lie prepared for whatever crew might enter. When he recognized Spock and McCoy, he straightened. The command uniform he procured did not fit quite right, but not badly enough to be noticed at a quick glance.

McCoy's eyes searched Harrison for a weapon. "He has a phaser." He instinctively angled the thigh Harrison injured earlier away from Harrison.

"I can see that, Doctor," Spock said. His eyes did not leave Harrison's face. "Harrison, we know who you are. Your teleportation device was confiscated. If you are from the future, work with us."

Harrison did not respond. He waited. He wanted one of them to say his real name. He wanted them to tell him with a good reason. He needed to know their side.

"I scanned you," McCoy said. "Did you really think we wouldn't figure it out when we saw you had a mutated form of Shalaft's Syndrome?" McCoy shifted his weight, not sure what kind of reaction to expect from Harrison. "Do you want us to call you Picard now or are we going to keep up this farce?"

"We know you're from the future," Spock said. "I do not think you are here to cause us severe harm. You could have done that easily enough when you chose to cause injuries instead." Spock's gaze did not move from Harrison's face. "The captain did not add charges to your arrest that we did not already have from Starfleet. I think you want to preserve your future, and you know you should work with us to do that."

Harrison was silent, visibly debating internally. Finally, he let out a small breath and nodded. "Yes, I am from the future. There are many things I can't and won't tell you, but you are right. I'm not here to cause you harm. I want to help. It would be best if you continue to call me John Harrison. I have not been born yet as you well know."

"What can you tell us?" McCoy said. "Maybe you can't tell us the future, but you could explain the present."

"Starfleet is under attack from its own," Harrison said. "The Enterprise has lasted this long because of the bonds forged with the crew and one of the leaders of the rebels called Gary Mitchell. He is dead now. Our time runs thin." Harrison kept his hands in view. "The rebel group is made up of people with various strengths of telekinetic and telepathic abilities called ESPers. Some have very strong intuition but not much else like your Captain Kirk; others are like Lt. Commander Mitchell, who had almost God-like control of objects and mind reading."

Spock's face changed ever so minutely. His mind ran through his interactions with Mitchell over the course of their assignment to the Enterprise. He also remembered Kirk mentioned Mitchell would not come back aboard the Enterprise.

"Jim said he'd blown himself up," McCoy said. He spoke with Kirk before Spock found Kirk in the observation room. McCoy would have stayed longer but there was an injury he had to attend to, which was typical for shore leave. "He said he'd tell me more later."

Harrison nodded. "He did." Harrison waited a moment and then continued, "I do not know what I will do here, but I know this is where I should be."

"You said that they called themselves ESPers," Spock said, "like the Starfleet program recently terminated."

"That is what connects the people involved with the higher-levels of skill," Harrison said. "They became part of that program and learned to develop their skills."

"Doctor," Spock said, finally letting his eyes leave Harrison. "The man who began that program was a Dr. Marcus, correct?"

"Yes," McCoy said, "but he's an admiral now…" McCoy's voice trailed. "Dammit. Jim's been stuck in some room with him this whole time."

**-**

"Everything's too quiet," Janice Rand said. She handed her datapad over to Sulu who signed it.

"People didn't show up to their posts and a prisoner escaped and you think it's 'too quiet,'" Sulu said.

"Well, yeah," Rand said. "If you were an escaped prisoner, wouldn't you head to the bridge first?"

"It'd depend on what I wanted," Sulu said. "Maybe I'd want steal something or corrupt the computer systems."

"Spock still hasn't returned," Uhura said. She came to the bridge initially to talk to Kirk and Spock about something she saw on the planet, but when the emergency happened, Uhura stayed to monitor communications.

"Is the captain still incommunicado?" Sulu asked.

Uhura tried and waited. "Yes. The conference room is still in a blackout."

Sulu rubbed his thumb and forefinger together in thought. "What if –" before Sulu could finish that thought, the turbolift doors opened and a group of four people exited. Sulu sat up straighter in the captain's chair.

Rand turned to face the group. "Hey, those are phasers, not dat –" Her hands went to her throat instinctively when her voice died off. She made small noises, trying to gather air into her lungs. Slowly she knelt down on the floor.

Sulu was already out of the captain's chair and heading right for the group. He had no weapon, but he did know how to kick their feet out from under them.

"I don't think so, Lt.," a woman in red said. She jumped, but her coconspirators were slower to jump and they fell over.

"McGiv –" Sulu said, but before he could get up, she had her foot on his throat.

"I might not be able to strangle people like Grant can," McGivens said, "but I can –"

Sulu pushed up against her foot with his hands, sending McGivens backwards. By then, her companions had recovered and Grant was already aiming his telekinetic ability at Sulu. It did not work for long when Grant fell over unexpectedly in a stunned state. Uhura did not waste time to check on Sulu before stunning McGivens and the other two conspirators.

"We have fifteen minutes," she told Sulu, "and then we'll have to stun them again."

"I'll notify Medical," Sulu said, "if they're still with us." He frowned. "Lock the turbolift to non-medical personnel unless they're senior officers."

**-**

"I'm on my side," Kirk said, "and the side of my crew and my passengers. I'd like to think that's Starfleet's side and the Federation's side, but I don't think anyone really knows who's in control right now."

"I think we both know who's in control," Admiral Marcus said. "I want you to continue on with us, Kirk. You might not be as powerful as some of our kind, but your skills in many other areas are too good to waste."

"Us, them," Kirks said and shook his head. "We should all be working together, not fighting each other. Didn't the last world war show us that?" Kirk met Admiral Marcus's eyes. "My side is still my side, my ship's side, my crew's side, my passenger's side, and the earth's side. Fighting like this gets us nowhere. It won't get the Enterprise home. It won't make the Klingons friendlier. It won't fix anything."

Admiral Marcus sighed. "What the last world war showed us was that multiple nuclear explosions were as bad of an idea as everyone whose work survived theorized," Admiral Marcus said.

Kirk stood. "Admiral Marcus, I'm not going to commit treason." He moved towards the door. "I'm not putting my ship in more danger than it already is. I will let you remain on the Enterprise, but you're confined to this room."

"You can't confine me, Captain Kirk, I outrank you," Admiral Marcus said. He did not stand.

"It's my ship, Admiral," Kirk said, "and you're a threat to it." He slipped out of the door and set in a lock code once on the other side. Kirk pressed a button on the communication station nearby. "Lt. Commander Giotto, I need two men to conference room J-22 to guard a security threat."

"Captain," Giotto said, "it's good to hear from you. We have a security situation, but Commander Spock has it under control. I will send two of my best men."

"What's the security emergency?" Kirk asked. He ran a hand through his hair. He could see two red shirts coming over to him quickly.

"Commander Spock and Dr. McCoy want to explain it," Giotto said. "They would like you to rendezvous with them on Residential Deck A."

"Alright," Kirk said. "Here are your men. Thanks, Giotto."

"My men shouldn't be there yet," Giotto said. He waited, but Kirk did not respond. "Captain? Captain Kirk." He did not receive a reply. Giotto accessed the security footage, but the cameras were not functioning. He tried to look to the cameras in surrounding areas, but they showed no signs of Captain Kirk, Admiral Marcus, or the rogue red shirts. Giotto gathered some men and made his way towards conference room J-22.

**-**

Chekov and Scott saw everything. The confrontation on the bridge became secondary the instant they watched the security feed outside the conference room disconnect. Scott locked onto Captain Kirk's last known location in the security interface and started typing furiously. "Those bastards," he murmured. "Open up a communication channel with Commander Spock, laddie," he instructed Chekov.

Spock soon appeared. McCoy was also in the screen along with Harrison. "Lt. Commander. Ensign." Spock glanced briefly at Harrison. "It has been an eventful evening. Please, speak freely."

"Uh…right," Scott said. He narrowed his eyes at Harrison. "The bridge was under threat not ten minutes ago. We've been maintaining red alert silence as asked. Captain Kirk left the conference room, sir, and then the security feed in that area of the ship failed. I've got a program tracking his movements, but he's staying outside of the security system. From the speed he's moving, I think someone might be carrying him, sir."

Meanwhile, Uhura accompanied Rand and the mutineers to Sickbay. Chapel was in charge with McCoy elsewhere on the ship. Uhura explained the situation once Rand was conscious.

"I can't believe McGivens would attack you like that," Chapel said. "She seems so unaffected." She adjusted the biobeds so those that attacked the bridge would remain unconscious for the time being.

"I wouldn't have believed it either," Rand murmured, "but they were all definitely on the same page." She touched her forehead, checking to see if she was healed.

"You said they seemed to have odd powers?" Chapel asked.

Uhura nodded. "Like an antique comic book," she said. "They seemed to know Sulu's moves before he made them, so I tried thinking about contacting Starfleet instead of stunning them with the phaser. I'm glad it worked."

Chapel frowned. "There was this program in Starfleet. They would test people for ESP ability and then study the ones with high levels. But, why would they attack us?" She went over to a computer and brought up information on the ESPer project. Rand and Uhura joined her to read over her shoulder.

"Do you know if there's a way to interrupt their powers?" Uhura asked.

Chapel searched the documents. "It's classified," she said, "but if anyone knows from memory, it'll be Leonard." She brought up a communication link to McCoy's location.

McCoy appeared in the communication window. Spock and Harrison were beside them. Spock only interrupted speaking with Scott and Chekov since Sick Bay might have more insight.

"Don't mind him," McCoy said and indicated Harrison. "He's apparently on our side in this mess. Christine, promise me we're not having more problems."

"You know I don't make promises I can't keep," Chapel said. "We've got a major security breach happening."

"Four people with ESP powers tried to take over the bridge," Uhura said. "We need to know how to work around their powers, Doctor."

"Yeah, we know about the attempted hijack," McCoy said. McCoy rubbed his face. "If it's people who use ESP at high levels, we need a noise at a certain frequency. It has to be intense. It's going to be hard to think normally if we get it right. But, if we get it right, they might faint from overstimulation."

"If we wired several phasers together," Spock said, "we could pipe it through the communication system." He brought Scott and Chekov's com link onto the screen so all of them could speak together properly.

Scott waited a moment to see if anyone would say anything more and then he spoke, "Chekov and I could write a program to stun anyone who faints from the noise. I know it's a bit unethical to stun whoever faints, but we can sort out the traitors from the psychics once we neutralize the threats to the ship."

"Alright," Spock said. "The doctor, Harrison, and I will work on the phasers since we are closest to a supply cache. Lt. Commander Scott and Ensign Chekov can work on manipulating the security offense. Nurse Chapel, I need you to continue to monitor those unconscious so that we can ensure they remain unconscious. Lt. Uhura and Yeoman Rand, find Lt. Commander Giotto and assist him in securing the captain if possible. We need the program as soon as possible. We will be in contact when the phasers are ready, Lt. Commander Scott. Contact us if you finish your program first." Spock paused. "Are there any questions?"

There was a moment of silence, then several responses of, "No, sir," before communication links terminated and each group went to perform their assigned duties.

**-**

Uhura and Rand walked swiftly through the ship. They intercepted Giotto and some of his men along the floor above conference room J-22. "Commander Spock wants us to help you locate Captain Kirk," Uhura said.

Giotto explained that once they started at the conference room, they split, working their way along the floor above and below and the starting floor. "These rogue red shirts found a path past the cameras somewhere. We can't locate Admiral Marcus either. That doesn't necessarily mean they're together, but they probably are." Giotto rubbed his face.

"I might know where they are," Rand said. When Giotto and Uhura looked to her, she clarified. "I see the entire ship every day. Captain Kirk has me doing things for him all over. I know all the cameras. I know all the corridors. If I start at the conference room, I might figure it out."

"Hadley," Giotto said and turned to one of his men, "you're in charge of search operations here. I'm going with Lt. Uhura and Yeoman Rand." Once Hadley acknowledged the order, the group parted.

The personnel in the hallways were scarce. It was well into Delta shift now. Rand stood at the door of the conference room and looked up where the security system was integrated into the ceiling. "This way," she said and led them to the right. The hallway was long and curved, which made it hard to monitor completely. Uhura and Giotto followed.

"They know we're coming, don't you think?" Rand asked after a while. "I'm trying not to think about where I'm going, but it's hard."

"Probably," Uhura said. "It doesn't mean we can't try." She stayed a step behind Rand and Giotto was two steps behind Uhura. "You're doing great, Janice. Keep going."

**-**

"Temporal agent," Spock said. "I've never heard of such a thing before." Spock, McCoy, and Harrison had many of the phasers already wired together, each male working carefully to ensure secure connections. A conversation started into the process about what Harrison could tell McCoy and Spock.

"Ideally, we never interact with anyone," Harrison explained. "However, some events in 1968, 1986, and 2063 caused corruption to time and space that allowed for Nero to enter our time stream. We've been working to close up these rifts and gaps so something like Nero cannot access our universe again."

McCoy frowned at this. "So we're some sort of time traveler prone universe?" He knew he lived a life that pre-modern spaceship man could only imagine, but this was too science fiction for McCoy.

"The worst distortions are from this era," Harrison said. "My mission was to distract Starfleet so other agents could repair the time stream. I am sorry about shooting you in the thigh, Dr. McCoy. I wanted to appear a credible threat."

"Just don't do it again," McCoy said. "Did you guys pick this ESPer or whatever's happening to Starfleet for the extra distraction?"

"No," Harrison said. "We arrived in 2260 and worked quietly, but the work was longer than we anticipated and hard. When one of our men was spotted and termed a 'man in black,' we had to regroup and rethink our strategies. That's when we realized we were in the history books, a feat we try to avoid at all costs."

"How does one become a temporal agent?" Spock asked. He opened up the back of a phaser and pulled out a blue wire to hook into a green wire of another phaser. "It sounds as if they need special skill sets in their agents."

"They found me," Harrison said. "I was at this bar, young Starfleet ensign. I provoked some aliens from a place you don't know yet. One of their agents saw the confrontation and thought I'd do more as a temporal agent than I could on the Starfleet command track." He paused and made sure his rewiring was correct. "I slept on it and realized they were right. Here I am preserving not only my chance to be born, but my brother's as well. As well as others who could be affected by a distortion in the time stream if events do not unfold according to our records."

Spock ran his fingers along their work. "This should suffice," he said. "What frequency would you recommend, Doctor?"

McCoy sat back, giving his legs a rest from crouching. "Let's just try not to blow the phasers up," McCoy said. "It's the intensity that's as important as the frequency. It needs to be resonant, like we're trying to break a wine glass by singing."

The communication station next to them whistled. Scott and Chekov appeared on the screen. It would be time to implement the plan soon.

**-**

Kirk was not sure how he got to the ready room, but he became aware of his surroundings and that he was sitting in the captain's chair. Admiral Marcus sat across from him and the two red shirts Kirk saw approach the conference room flanked the door to the bridge. Kirk's head ached and he could taste dried blood on his lips. He moved his foot along the floor and felt the exposed edge of an emergency door. It was designed to give the crew a means to exit the bridge in an emergency if the turbolifts no longer functioned. It was how the group entered the ready room.

"Excuse the barbaric means," Admiral Marcus said, "but my strongest man on your crew appears to be missing."

"I know," Kirk said. He tried not to think about Gary. He was not sure what Admiral Marcus could really do. He was not even sure what all Mitchell was able to do anymore. "I know a lot of things."

"But not everything," Admiral Marcus said. "It must be hard for you not to know everything."

"I don't have to know everything," Kirk said. "I know my crew. I know my officers. I know you got off the SS Excalibur after a fight. You're worn out. I doubt any of those wounds you're hiding were self-inflicted. Tell me, Admiral. Did you blow up the Excalibur, or did you suffocate them like one of your men tried to suffocate your daughter?"

Admiral Marcus leaned back in his seat. "We don't all have the same powers," he said. "Some of us have telepathy, some of us have telekinesis. Some have both. And some of us," he continued to observe Kirk casually, "can do one thing very, very well."

"Let me guess," Kirk said, "you can stop my heart." He let out a tiny snort at the notion.

"No," Admiral Marcus said. "I can't." He lunged forward abruptly, reaching for Kirk's command insignia. Kirk leaned back in his chair instinctively, but one of the red shirts anticipated and impeded the movement. Admiral Marcus ripped the Starfleet emblem from Kirk's chest and sat back in his chair. He ripped the stray golden yellow fabric away from the emblem. Once he had only the emblem in his hand, he made eye contact with Kirk. "I am going to shoot this through your forehead, into your brain, and out the back of your skull without even touching you with my hands."

Kirk stared back, resolute. His eyes dared Admiral Marcus to try.

Admiral Marcus raised his hand and flicked the command insignia towards Kirk. His aim was true and the metal shot forward easily. Then it faltered. A steady, high pitch filled the ready room. It filled the entire ship. Kirk covered his ears instinctively. He saw the command insignia fall on his desk. Admiral Marcus sat doubled over in his chair and soon slid down onto the floor in agony. Kirk felt as though his teeth might vibrate out of his mouth along with his brain. Darkness encroached into Kirk's vision. He saw without really registering the red shirts fall to the floor. Right when Kirk began to feel a combination of faint and nausea, security phasers fired, stunning the ESPers around him.

The noise began to fade, but he still felt dizzy. Kirk saw the doors to the ready room open. Uhura and Rand appeared at his side with Giotto guarding the door. Rand surmised Kirk was in the ready room when the hallway led them to the emergency tunnel's exit. Rand put her fingers around Kirk's wrist. "His heart's racing badly."

"Dr. McCoy and Spock are on their way," Uhura said. She checked Admiral Marcus and the red shirts. "Everyone's stunned."

As if on cue, McCoy stepped over the rogue red shirts and walked straight to Kirk's chair. Spock entered behind. Harrison had voluntarily returned to his cell in the brig to stay out of the Enterprise's way now that things appeared to be under control.

"Has he said anything yet?" McCoy asked with his scanner already in his hand.

"No," Rand replied. "His heart won't slow down."

Kirk's eyes followed the movements of McCoy's scanner. "Bones," he rasped.

"Yeah, it's me," McCoy said. "You're suffering effects of the frequency. Who knew your superpower shtick was actually true."

"Captain," Spock said, hand briefly on Kirk's shoulder, "when you are ready, we will explain our sides of the situation. There have been many changes beyond the coup."

Kirk watched unaffected medical personnel begin to remove the stunned assailants. He still felt dizzy. He took deep breaths and let out an involuntary "Ow" when McCoy gave him a shot for the high blood pressure. Kirk took another deep breath and then said, "I'm listening, Spock, start talking."

**-**

The brig was uncharacteristically full. Kirk navigated past the medical team monitoring the prisoners while a security team helped sift through who was a potential threat and who was not. Kirk stopped at Harrison's recently repaired cell. Harrison sat on the cot along the far wall. He raised his gaze when Kirk appeared.

None of the crew looked at them. Kirk punched a code into the security pad near the door and the force field on Harrison's cell soon stopped. Kirk motioned for Harrison to follow. Harrison rose and did not speak. He slipped out of the brig with Kirk. They walked down a hallway. There was a small observation room for those who might wait to see someone in the brig for whatever reason. Kirk approached the window and stopped. He turned to face Harrison. "Between both of us, I think we know time travel solves nothing."

"Sir?" Harrison asked.

Kirk reached into his pocket and pulled out a device Harrison wore around his forearm before imprisonment. Kirk turned it over in his hands, but did not give it to Harrison just yet. "Tell me why you came here," Kirk said. His tone was firm, but inviting. "Why the Enterprise now? Spock says you're not supposed to interfere."

Harrison surveyed Kirk, trying not to stare. "I don't know how my story ends," he said. "The historical record led me to Deneb IV and then my trail stopped." Harrison almost smiled but not quite. This moment was a good moment, an intriguing moment. James T. Kirk standing across from him and there was no need for malice any longer. "So, I thought I should make my own trail. I grew up learning the significance of the Enterprise and its crew. I couldn't distract you from this coup and then leave you to deal with the consequences alone."

"Isn't that interfering?" Kirk asked with a hint of his own smile. He was still guarded. Harrison had tried to shoot at him not too long ago at the outpost.

"Not if you stick to the record," Harrison said. He snorted. "I started in Starfleet, perhaps I should return to it. Become the next great captain of this ship." He reached out and touched one of the walls, running the pads of his fingers along it.

Kirk shook his head. "Either way, the next time I see you, I want you to be the John Picard or John Harrison or whoever you are supposed to be, not the one who's time traveling." Kirk held out the time travel device.

Harrison took it and slipped it around his forearm before strapping it in place. Once the device was secure, he met Kirk's gaze. "Jean-Luc," he said. "I'm Jean-Luc Picard." He smiled again, unable to help it now that the danger was over and he had won enough trust to go to his own timeline. "I can trust that to stay between us, Captain."

"Of course," Kirk said. "Just go back where you came from and stay there this time." He held out one of his hands.

"I will," Harrison promised. He grabbed Kirk's hand in a firm shake. Then he let go and took two steps back. He pushed a few buttons and slid his finger along a sensor. Then Harrison vanished in a light display that was similar to energizing but sounded significantly different.

Kirk stood in silence for a long time. He let out a small sigh. "You going to just stand in the corner or what?"

Spock walked over to Kirk. His hands were clasped behind his back. "I have brought the security system back online," Spock said. "We have word from Starfleet of those starships that remain regaining control over their rebellions. Many Starfleet installations report the same. Admiral Archer hopes to have a working solution to deal with the rebels within twelve hours. He is open to any suggestions from any Starfleet officer."

Kirk nodded. "One step at a time. We're still sorting through our crew." He stepped away from the windows in the observation room. Spock fell into step with him.

**-**

Jean-Luc Picard looked out at the sunrise. He shed the name John Harrison once he returned to the twenty-fourth century. He no longer wore the uniform of the temporal agents and he no longer carried the time travel device. When he arrived home, there was a message waiting for him from Starfleet. Someone recommended Starfleet reinstate Jean-Luc Picard as an ensign and send him to the USS Reliant if Picard was open to an assignment. Picard's ensign uniform still fit. He walked up the stairs of Starfleet Headquarters in San Francisco and paused at the top to look at everything he could see. He wanted to work his way to the Enterprise. He knew now that was where he belonged.

**The End**


End file.
